When comparing The Banner Saga 2 vs Mass Effect Andromeda, the Slant community recommends The Banner Saga 2 for most people. In the question“What are the best games on Steam with a rich story?”The Banner Saga 2 is ranked 36th while Mass Effect Andromeda is ranked 48th. The most important reason people chose The Banner Saga 2 is:

Much of the mechanics found in the original title remain the same, which is a good thing as the turn based tactical grid based combat is the strongest thing about this game series. There have been some slight improvements though making for a more balanced rhythm to the game by adding new units to both the players choices and the enemies, which mixes up the gameplay quite often to keep it feeling fresh.

Pros

Pro

Great combat

Much of the mechanics found in the original title remain the same, which is a good thing as the turn based tactical grid based combat is the strongest thing about this game series. There have been some slight improvements though making for a more balanced rhythm to the game by adding new units to both the players choices and the enemies, which mixes up the gameplay quite often to keep it feeling fresh.

Pro

Helps the player learn the gameplay

The first title in the series had a bit of trouble explaining all the aspects of play of the game. Luckily this has changed in the second release as there is now a camp where a trainer will give challenges to the player that explain the game a lot more in-depth. This is great for new players as they can learn the ins and outs a lot easier.

Pro

Allows for imports of gamesaves from first game

Players of the series can import their game saves from the previous title, giving them the option to start as one of two different characters. This ensures that choices made in the previous game are not lost when starting this game and experiencing the story it has to tell.

Pro

Great hand drawn graphics

The all hand drawn graphics are animated smoothly and are extremely detailed which makes for one heck of a good looking game.

Pro

It's an exciting new take on an epic franchise

Mass Effect has always been an outstanding franchise with groundbreaking gameplay.

Pro

Exploration is quite fun

Nearly every planet in Andromeda is unique from the others. There's different terrain and environments to check out, new hazards to watch out for, and a plethora of missions to complete on every planet.

Pro

Combat is very fast paced

The combat in previous entries of Mass Effect has been based on getting behind cover and having good aim. That aspect still exists in Andromeda, but thanks to the new jump jet, things are much faster and much more fun. The jump jet allows you to vault over obstacles or make quick dashes while running, which lets you flank, charge, and generally just outmaneuver enemies in many more interesting ways.

Pro

You can change the way your character works on the fly

In Mass Effect Andromeda, the class system is incredibly open, and classes can be swapped at any time, even in the middle of combat. Essentially, you can go from being a battle-hardened front line soldier to a crafty engineer, or even to an infiltrator that's capable of invisibility. This will also swap out your abilities, which makes sure you're always prepared for the next challenge you have to face.

Pro

Great character customization

There's a wide array of options for you to customize your character with. Additionally, if you're not happy with the pre-set options, you can choose to create your character nearly from scratch.

Cons

Con

Story feels a bit weak compared to the previous game

Much like the sophomore album syndrome (where the second album from a break out band falls flat) the story in this release feels a bit weak. While not horrible, it will have trouble connecting to players who are not already familiar with the series. There is also a sense that many of the story elements are setting up events to be found in the third game, meaning that players will be left unknowing what the conclusions are.

Con

HP damage based attacks leave little room for expanding ones tactics

Due to the design of the gameplay, the amount of hit points a players unit has is the exact amount of damage they will inflict on an enemy. This makes for the winning strategy to always hit all enemy units on the playing field to ensure they inflict as little damage as possible. While players can go about it many other ways, this strategy tends to do the best, which is a bit limiting.

Con

Sub-par storytelling

It's got a few great moments with moral grey areas, but the storytelling is overall lacking and doesn't immerse you in the game very well. It feels like the writing was rushed (or done by completely different teams with different visions for the game), and that can be rather irritating.